Childhood Memories and GrownUp Dreams
by fowl68
Summary: They both smiled, although the light from the fridge didn’t give a whole lot of light at their angle, and toasted to a night of hard work and pie.


**Disclaimer:** Don't own anything! The words in bold were said by Barbara Alpert.

**Author's Note:** I just finished playing Tos:DotNW earlier and I hated the ending. It didn't have the good drama that the original had and there were loose ends that bothered me. While I enjoyed playing the game, the original will forever be better. Inspiration for this…I guess I wanted to write something about Richter and Aster from a brotherly POV rather than simply friendship or as romance.

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_A brother shares childhood memories and grown-up dreams. ~Author Unknown_

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**They are your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. **

The whispers reached even the basement and even there, there was gossip. Gossip about the newest prodigy to come to the Research Academy. He hadn't paid much attention to the news, simply nodding when he was told, speaking as little as he usually did.

Then came the order to deliver some papers to the Head of the Underwater Excavation and Research upstairs. He did as he was told; keeping his shoulders hunched and head down, olive green eyes looking at the stairs in front of him through dusky red bangs and clear, half moon glasses. Someone bumped him, but it didn't have the force behind an intentional blow. Regardless, he found himself pitching forward and the papers scattered across the stairs.

"Sorry 'bout that." It was a child's voice. What child would be here? "Here, let me help."

He chanced a look through his bangs once more and found a kid, slender and a little taller than average for—how old could the kid be, seven? Pale blonde hair framed a sweetheart's face, but with eyes the color of green sea glass that held a spark of mischievousness.

As he straightened up the papers in his arms, the kid said, "Sorry again, about that. I guess I was in a rush." A small hand was held out. "Name's Aster. Nice to meet'cha…"

"Richter."

Aster tilted his head to the side. "That's an interesting name. It sounds like some really strong person. Maybe you'll grow into that name."

And Richter looked him full in the face for the first time and he saw perhaps the one human in entire Research Academy that might be willing to believe in him.

**They are your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. **

"Richter!" Aster rapped his knuckles on the door for the fourth time. "Richter, I'm coming in!"

The blonde pushed open the door and immediately, his eyes were drawn to the figure slumped on the desk. Richter had his head leaning on an outstretched arm with a pen held upright still, the other hand held papers. It was such a difference from usual state that he put on for everyone else, not that Aster was foolish enough to accuse Richter of primping in the morning (even though he did). Aster sighed and gently shook his friend's shoulder.

"Richter, up. C'mon."

The darker shade of green eyes were still cobwebbed with sleep as they opened. "As'er?"

"Mmhmm. Get off your butt. If you're going to fall asleep, at least fall asleep in a bed."

Richter slowly got to his feet. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon. I go to Meltokio for a week and this is what happens. I _told_ you not to overwork yourself."  
"Mother hen." Richter grumbled.

Aster flashed a grin. "I love you too."

**They are your partner in crime, your midnight companion. Someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. **

All Richter could see was the pale blonde head in front of him as the crept through the hallways. It was another late night researching and while Richter had told Aster to get some dinner before the cafeteria closed, but Aster had been so close to finding something that he hadn't listened.

Two and a half hours later, his stomach growled. Thus, their late-night (or early morning, depending on your viewpoint) expedition to the cafeteria.

Aster tried the door, finding it locked. "You seriously didn't see that coming?" Richter looked down at the blonde, giving him a smirk.

And Aster matched his expression, digging into his pocket before pulling out a ring of keys. "Always plan ahead."

"Yeah, right. The only time you plan ahead is when food is involved." Richter told him as he unlocked the door.

"Well, I've got my priorities in order, don't I?" Aster slipped through the door, nothing but a phantom to the shadows, with Richter on his heels, quietly closing the door behind them.

Richter could hear muffled curses with a few thumps already. "What'd you trip over?"

"_Nothing!"_

Light flooded the room as Aster opened up the refrigerator. "Awesome, there's still some cherry pie left."

"Any-" Before the redhead could finish his query, Aster's slender hand was holding out a plate of pumpkin pie and Richter grinned. His favorite. Aster hoisted himself to sit on the counter, content with his plate of cherry pie and glass of milk. Richter poured himself a glass of green tea before following his example.

They both smiled, although the light from the fridge didn't give a whole lot of light at their angle, and toasted to a night of hard work and pie.

**They are your teacher, **

Aster was quiet on his bed as he watched Richter pace back and forth, anger in every bend and twist of his step.

"Why is it that your pacing isn't supposed to annoy me, but when I start pacing, I get chucked out of the room?" Aster asked dryly.

"I'm older than you." Richter snarled, pivoting and paced to the other side of the room.

Aster let his eyebrows raise and a slight chuckle escape his lips. "And you call me childish."

Richter let himself fall on the bed, running a hand through his hair. "I hate magical theory. A lot of anomalies for too little detail."

"That's because you're a big picture kind of guy." Aster reached over his friend to grab an overflowing notebook from the nearby desk. "Look, I'll help explain it to you."  
Richter sat up reluctantly. Magical theory wasn't his strong point and he disliked having to decipher magic circles. Aster flipped the notebook open to a page near the beginning, a page filled with familiar erratic words written in a child's hand. Aster pointed to a rune. "This circle has the universal symbol for Efreet at the top, already telling you that it'll be a fire elemental. Now, the runes on the side…"

**Your defense attorney, **

Kate looked at the mess in Aster's room. "Every time I walk in here, there's a new pile of clothes."

Aster looked at the 'pile' of clothes. "It's one pair of shorts and a shirt. The fact that one is on top of the other does not automatically make it a pile. To be technical, it's more of a stack."

Kate folded her arms across her chest. "Are they neatly folded?" At Aster's silence, she continued, "They can't be a stack of clothes if they're not neat."

"Well, can't it be a loose stack?" Richter commented from the bed. The other two turned to look at him confusedly. "Well, you can have such a thing as a loose stack of papers. Why can't you have a loose stack of clothes?"

Kate looked at him open-mouthed and Richter gave her a quick grin that Aster mimicked. Oh yes, the boys were a terror working together in an argument.

**Your personal press agent, **

"I'm not disagreeing with your expedition, Aster. Simply on the company that you're choosing to take with you." The Dean of the Academy said. "A half-elf isn't proper for something like this."

Aster put on a charming smile. "Haven't you head about Richter, though? He's brilliant, really knows his stuff. He's tutored me on more than one occasion, sir and he holds some of the information needed on this expedition to look for the Centurions. I'd be honored to have him by my side."

The Dean looked at him. "If you say so…"

Richter looked up as Aster left the Dean's office with a wide smile on his face. "And you said I couldn't bring you with me.

**Even your shrink. **

"You think these dreams are prophetic?" Aster said, sitting on the wall that separated Syback from the ocean.

"They feel…different. In some of them, you end up dying. And in other ones…there's this little blonde girl that gives me the chills. She carries a whip," Aster quirked an eyebrow at this. "And she looks a little older than she should."

"I can tell you what that means." Richter looked up at him from his position leaning against the wall. "It means you wish you had a blonde girlfriend."  
Richter threw the apple core that had once been his lunch at his best friend. "You're a moron."

"Yet you're still here." And there was the knowing Aster smile that Richter was as accustomed to seeing as his own reflection.

**Some days, they're the reason you wish you were an only child. **

"Which one of you stole the food?" The head cafeteria lady wasn't a fat woman. She was just large. And she didn't need help or magic to heave a fifty pound bag of flour with one hand.

Richter immediately pointed at Aster. "It was all him."

"Traitor." Aster muttered.

With the promise of a few nights that were to be spent scrubbing cafeteria floors and tables, the boys were sent to their room. And as soon as Richter turned his back to begin changing for bed, Aster tackled him with a pillow in hand.

"Aster-what the-?" Richter struggled to keep his balance with the blonde on his back.

Aster kept his arms around Richter's neck for balance and looked at his best friend with a mischievous smile. "Traitors deserve punishment." And a whack on the head with the pillow followed the statement. The following war that ensued was known to the sixth year students at the Academy as the Third Great Pillow War of Room 118.

-//-//-//

**Other A/N:** The argument with the pile/stack of clothes on the floor actually happened between my brother and me.


End file.
